Staff Software Engineer - Online Storage
Plaid · Greater Seattle Area
- On site
- Full-time
- $250,000 / year
- Greater Seattle Area
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Subject: Interested in the Staff Software Engineer - Online Storage role at Plaid
Hi Dana — I came across the Staff Software Engineer - Online Storage opening and wanted to reach out directly. I've spent the last few years doing exactly this kind of work, and Plaid stood out because…
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Job highlights
- Build and scale online storage systems.
- Design resilient, distributed storage.
- Optimize performance and infrastructure cost.
- Collaborate with stakeholder teams.
- Improve developer experience with storage.
About the role
About Plaid
We believe that the way people interact with their finances will drastically improve in the next few years. We’re dedicated to empowering this transformation by building the tools and experiences that thousands of developers use to create their own products. Plaid powers the tools millions of people rely on to live a healthier financial life. We work with thousands of companies like Venmo, SoFi, several of the Fortune 500, and many of the largest banks to make it easy for people to connect their financial accounts to the apps and services they want to use. Plaid’s network covers 12,000 financial institutions across the US, Canada, UK and Europe. Founded in 2013, the company is headquartered in San Francisco with offices in New York, Washington D.C., London and Amsterdam.
About the Online Storage Team
The Online Storage team is growing! We build the storage layer backing Plaid’s Core Data Models used by all of engineering. The goal is to evolve Plaid’s storage systems to be more reliable, scalable, performant, and efficient.
About the Role
As an engineer on the storage team, you will have the opportunity to influence the strategy of the team and design, deploy, and scale the online storage platform at Plaid. You will build services and tools to improve operation automations. You will optimize query performance and infrastructure cost. You will wield terraform and cloud resources with confidence and certainty. You will partner with our stakeholder teams to understand their current storage and future storage requirements. You will improve the user experience that partner teams have interacting with the storage platform.
Responsibilities
- Build and scale systems to support large datasets and high-throughput workloads with strong performance and reliability guarantees.
- Design and evolve resilient, distributed storage systems that operate reliably.
- Navigate ambiguity and drive clarity across complex storage and infrastructure challenges.
- Diagnose and resolve deeply technical issues within storage engines, including analyzing internal behavior and, when necessary, diving into source code.
- Lead careful, reliability-focused migrations that minimize risk and ensure seamless transitions for dependent systems.
- Build foundational storage capabilities that significantly reduce friction for product engineers, enabling teams to move faster and more confidently.
Qualifications
- Strong software engineering experience with deep focus on backend and/or platform systems.
- Deep expertise in storage technologies.
- Experience deploying and orchestrating databases at scale.
- Strong background in database performance optimization, preferably with SQL databases.
- Experience designing and evolving storage platforms.
- Infrastructure experience with tools such as Terraform and AWS.
- Hands-on experience with databases such as TiDB, MySQL, or MongoDB.
- Experience building internal tooling and automation to improve reliability and developer efficiency.
Nice to Have
- Demonstrated curiosity about evolving storage technologies and performance optimization techniques.
- Production experience with Go and TypeScript.
- Experience applying security best practices in storage or infrastructure systems.
Our Mission and Commitment to Diversity
Our mission at Plaid is to unlock financial freedom for everyone. To support that mission, we seek to build a diverse team of driven individuals who care deeply about making the financial ecosystem more equitable. We recognize that strong qualifications can come from both prior work experiences and lived experiences. We encourage you to apply to a role even if your experience doesn't fully match the job description. We are always looking for team members that will bring something unique to Plaid!
Plaid is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and values diversity at our company. We do not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, ethnicity, religion or religious belief, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, sexual stereotypes, age, military or veteran status, disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state, and local laws. Plaid is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities in our recruiting process. If you need any assistance with your application or interviews due to a disability, please let us know at accommodations@plaid.com.
Please review our Candidate Privacy Notice here.
Compensation and Benefits
Additional compensation in the form(s) of equity and/or commission are dependent on the position offered. Plaid provides a comprehensive benefit plan, including medical, dental, vision, and 401(k). Pay is based on factors such as (but not limited to) scope and responsibilities of the position, candidate's work experience and skillset, and location. Pay and benefits are subject to change at any time, consistent with the terms of any applicable compensation or benefit plans.
Compensation Range: $207.6K - $306.6K
Key skills/competency
- Staff Software Engineer
- Online Storage
- Backend Systems
- Platform Engineering
- Distributed Systems
- Database Performance Optimization
- Infrastructure as Code
- Cloud Computing (AWS)
- Database Management (TiDB, MySQL, MongoDB)
- Automation
Skills & topics
- Software Engineer
- Backend Engineer
- Platform Engineer
- Storage Engineer
- Distributed Systems
- Database
- AWS
- Terraform
- Go
- TypeScript
- Plaid
- San Francisco
- Engineering
- Tech
- Storage
How to get hired
- Tailor your resume: Highlight backend, platform, and storage system experience. Quantify achievements in reliability and performance.
- Showcase technical skills: Emphasize expertise with databases, Terraform, AWS, and automation tools.
- Demonstrate impact: Provide examples of leading migrations and improving developer efficiency.
- Prepare for technical interviews: Be ready to discuss distributed systems design and problem-solving.
- Research Plaid's mission: Align your application with Plaid's goal of unlocking financial freedom.
Technical preparation
Behavioral questions
Frequently asked questions
- What are the core responsibilities for a Staff Software Engineer - Online Storage at Plaid?
- As a Staff Software Engineer on the Online Storage team at Plaid, you will be responsible for designing, deploying, and scaling the online storage platform. This includes building services and tools for operational automation, optimizing query performance and infrastructure costs, and partnering with stakeholder teams to understand their storage needs. You will also lead reliability-focused migrations and build foundational storage capabilities to reduce friction for product engineers.
- What specific technologies and tools are important for this role at Plaid?
- Key technologies and tools for this role include deep expertise in storage technologies, experience with deploying and orchestrating databases at scale (such as TiDB, MySQL, or MongoDB), strong database performance optimization skills (preferably with SQL databases), and infrastructure experience with tools like Terraform and AWS. Experience building internal tooling and automation for reliability and developer efficiency is also crucial.
- What kind of impact can a Staff Software Engineer have at Plaid?
- A Staff Software Engineer at Plaid can significantly impact the company by evolving Plaid’s storage systems to be more reliable, scalable, performant, and efficient. You will influence the team's strategy, build foundational capabilities that enable product engineers to move faster, and directly contribute to Plaid's mission of unlocking financial freedom.
- How does Plaid approach diversity and inclusion for its engineering roles?
- Plaid is committed to building a diverse team and is an equal opportunity employer. They value diverse experiences and encourage applications even if candidates don't perfectly match every qualification. Plaid also provides reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities during the application and interview process.
- What is the compensation range for the Staff Software Engineer - Online Storage position at Plaid?
- The compensation range for this position at Plaid is $207.6K - $306.6K annually. This range may vary based on factors such as the scope and responsibilities of the position, candidate's experience and skillset, and location. Additional compensation may include equity and/or commission.
- Does Plaid offer remote work options for this Staff Software Engineer role?
- The job description mentions Plaid has offices in San Francisco, New York, Washington D.C., London, and Amsterdam. While the specific work arrangement (on-site, hybrid, remote) isn't explicitly stated for this role, it's common for such positions to be based out of one of their office locations. Further clarification would be needed during the application process.
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